Praised for his "nobility and rich tone," (The New York Times) and his "enormous, thrilling voice seemingly capable ... [of] raising the dead;" (Wall Street Journal), bass-baritone Dashon Burton began 2014/15 singing in the new St. Mark's Passion at the Oregon Bach Festival, followed by a month of performances singing recitals and the role of Jesus in the St. Matthew Passion at the Carmel Bach Festival. This season, he returns to the Bach Choir of Bethlehem for recitals, cantatas and festival performances, is a soloist in Bach's Mass in B minor at Alice Tully Hall with the American Classical Orchestra, and in the Mozart Requiem during a residency at Bowdoin.

He returns to Philharmonia Baroque for performances of Vivaldi's Dixit Dominus and the Zelenka Mass with Nicholas McGegan and sings Handel's Messiah in Boston and Cincinnati. Burton takes on the role of Jupiter in Les Talens Lyriques' production of Castor and Pollux in France, and sings Bach Cantata No. 82, Ich habe Genug, with Seraphic Fire in Miami.

In recent seasons, Dashon debuted with the Cleveland Orchestra in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen led by Franz Welser-Möst; also with Boston's Handel and Haydn Society in their production of Samson. He has toured Europe in the St. John Passion with Christoph Pregardien's Le Concert de Lorraine and has sung the role of Jesus in the St. Matthew Passion with the Charlotte Symphony, on tour in the Netherlands, at the Carmel Bach Festival, and in New York and Italy with Maasaki Suzuki and the Yale Schola Cantorum. At Carnegie Hall Dashon is a regular guest in Handel's Messiah, and sang in Zankel Hall at Carnegie in Arvo Pärt’s Passion with Ensemble ACJW. Amongst his other turns with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Dashon sang the title role of Mendelssohn's Elijah with them in Pennsylvania, and at the Strathmore Center in Bethesda, MD.

Dashon Burton brought home a top prize from the 2012 ARD International Music Competition in Munich, plus the first prize in Oratorio from the 49th International Vocal Competition in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. These awards follow his First Place wins in both the 2012 Oratorio Society of New York's Competition and the Bach Choir of Bethlehem's Competition for Young American Singers.

Burton appears frequently with Trinity Church Wall Street and music director Julian Wachner, with whom he has been soloist in the Fauré Requiem, in Bach’s St. John Passion and Handel’s Messiah at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. The New York Times wrote, “the bass-baritone Dashon Burton…. is possessed of a clarion D that served him well in ‘The trumpet shall sound.’ ”

Mr. Burton began his professional studies at Case Western Reserve University and graduated from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. Immediately upon graduation, he was invited to join Cantus, a professional men's classical vocal ensemble based in Minneapolis and known for its concerts and collaborations with renowned organizations and artists such as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boston Pops, James Sewell Ballet and Bobby McFerrin.

After his tenure with Cantus ended in 2009, Burton entered Yale University's Institute of Sacred Music, where he studied vocal literature including Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610, Bach's St. Matthew Passion, and Mendelssohn's Elijah under tenor James Taylor. He received his Master of Music degree in 2011.

In addition to his work in early music, Mr. Burton is an avid performer of new music and has premiered works by many living composers. He is a founding member of Roomful of Teeth (under the direction of Brad Wells), a vocal ensemble devoted to new compositions using the fullest possible range of vocal techniques. Burton tours internationally with Roomful of Teeth, which was the recipient of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small ensemble performance.